More Than Medicine
More Than Medicine
MTM - Honoring Charlie Kirk
When tragedy strikes the Christian community, how should believers respond? Dr. Robert Jackson tackles this profound question through the lens of martyrdom, drawing powerful parallels between Stephen—the first Christian martyr—and Charlie Kirk, whose life was recently cut short.
Drawing from Acts chapters 6-7, Dr. Jackson unpacks the striking similarities between these two men of faith separated by millennia. Both were filled with grace and spiritual power. Both faced fierce opposition with unflappable composure. Both spoke truth fearlessly, even when it cost them everything. Where Stephen's face shone "like an angel" before the Sanhedrin, Charlie maintained his characteristic smile even when surrounded by hostile crowds. This Spirit-filled demeanor, Dr. Jackson observes, enraged their opponents more than anything else.
The martyrdom of Stephen catalyzed the spread of the early church and led to Saul's transformation into Paul, who would write much of the New Testament. Similarly, Charlie Kirk's death presents a pivotal moment for believers today. Will this tragedy drive us deeper in our faith or merely provoke angry responses? Dr. Jackson offers practical guidance: examine your faith's authenticity, deepen your walk with God, and recognize the spiritual nature of our battles. Most crucially, he reminds us that revival happens one heart at a time, as believers share their testimonies and the gospel with those in their circles of influence. "Our only strategy is evangelism," he emphasizes, "and our only weapon is the truth of the gospel."
Ready to move from spectator to participant in what God might do through this tragedy? This episode challenges you to be a light in your community, workplace, and family—giving people Jesus rather than merely lamenting cultural darkness. The transformation of hearts, after all, has always been God's method of changing the world.
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Welcome to More Than Medicine, where Jesus is more than enough for the ills that plague our culture and our country. Hosted by author and physician, dr Robert Jackson, and his wife Carlotta and daughter Hannah Miller. So listen up, because the doctor is in.
Speaker 2:Welcome to More Than Medicine. I'm your host, dr Robert Jackson, bringing to you biblical insights and stories from the country doctor's rusty, dusty scrapbook. Well, I'm recording this on the morning of Charlie Kirk's memorial service. You won't receive this until a week later, but still I think it's appropriate to make some comments.
Speaker 2:When I was in college, I read a book entitled A Foreign Devil in China. It was a story about an orthopedic surgeon who was a missionary in China. His children often prayed that they would die a martyr for the kingdom of God, which at the time I thought was a very strange prayer. One of his daughters was Ruth, ruth Bell, who eventually married Billy Graham, and at the time I thought that was such a strange prayer until I read later Fox's Book of Martyrs, which detailed the history of the martyrs of the Christian church. It was a fascinating book which I have read more than one time, and I later realized that the seed of the church is the blood of the martyrs and I myself began to pray that God would not allow me to die as an old man curled up in a nursing home bed, but he would allow me to die at the hands of an angry mob of Hindus in India, or Muslims in the Middle East, or liberal Democrats protesting my preaching the truth of the gospel? Who was the first Christian martyr? Well, you know who that was. It was none other than Stephen the deacon, and his life and ministry and his martyrdom are detailed in the book of Acts, in chapter 6 and 7.
Speaker 2:In Acts 6 and verse 8, the Bible tells us that Stephen was full of grace and power Holy Spirit power. Verse 9 tells us that he was opposed by several different groups of anti-Christians that debated him publicly. Verse 10 tells us that they could not cope with his wisdom or his spirit. Verse 11 tells us that those groups induced people to lie about him, to slander him. In verse 12, we see that he was dragged away by the religious leaders to appear before their religious council. Verse 13 to 14 tells us that false witnesses accused him. And then, in verse 15, as he was making his public defense, the Bible tells us that his face was like an angel.
Speaker 2:All of chapter 7 details Stephen's defense before the religious council defense before the religious council, and he presented to them a very accurate history lesson to the religious council, and he provided extensive quotes from the Torah and he concluded with a direct accusation of murdering Jesus, just as their forefathers had murdered the prophets. Well, when these religious leaders heard that they were unable to bear the rebuke and they covered their ears and they charged Stephen and dragged him out of town and stoned him to death, in his act of dying, stephen saw Jesus at the right hand of the Father and begged God not to lay this sin against them, against the religious leaders, to lay this sin against them, against the religious leaders. Now, my observation is that what Satan meant for evil, god meant for good. Who was standing there observing and approving this act of murder? Well, it was none other than Saul. Saul in hearty approval, hearing Stephen's testimony and no doubt for weeks later, his words rang in Saul's ears, until that fateful day when God, the Father, orchestrated an encounter with his son on the road to Damascus and Saul the murderer became Paul, the missionary who wrote most of the New Testament, planted most of the early churches in Western Europe and preached the Word despite persecution, ridicule, scorn, stoning, beatings, near drownings, shipwrecks and imprisonments.
Speaker 2:He was never bitter or angry, but he was full of grace and love and full of Jesus. So who else do we know that died a martyr? Well, charlie Kirk did. An American patriot, an evangelist, a promoter of family values and biblical values, a political activist, a family man, a Christian apologist and debater, like Stephen was, and a discipler and trainer of the next generation of young Christian men. Like Stephen, charlie was full of grace and power. To be full of grace and to be full of spiritual power, one must be full of Holy Spirit. No doubt Charlie was a Spirit-filled Christian man. Just watch his videos and decide for yourself. He is unflappable.
Speaker 2:The God-haters, with all of their venom and vitriol, could never get under Charlie's skin, could never make him angry, could never make Charlie lose his cool. He was the picture of a Spirit-controlled Christian man, full of grace and power, just like Stephen. More than that, like Stephen, he had wisdom, biblical wisdom. He could quote Scripture endlessly, as well as reams of government statistics. Obviously, he was a highly intelligent man, but knowledge and wisdom are two different things. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. There are many intelligent people with plenty of knowledge who lack wisdom, who lack a fear and respect of the Lord.
Speaker 2:Charlie Kirk walked in obedience to God, which is the primary indicator of a genuine fear of the Lord, a primary indicator of biblical wisdom. How do you know when someone fears and loves God? Well, jesus told us. He said if you love me, you will obey me. Like Stephen, whose face was like an angel, charlie was always smiling, even when viciously attacked, he smiled. When driven out of restaurants and out of public venues, charlie smiled like an angel, like a genuine spirit-filled Christian should. When the God-haters surrounded him, like the bulls of Bashan, gnashing their teeth and calling him a racist and a fascist and all manner of other epithets, charlie just smiled. He was full of love and peace and joy. He was full of Jesus. He was unflappable. He was unflappable and you know that enraged his opponents more than anything else. He was calm in the midst of every storm.
Speaker 2:Amazingly, like Stephen, charlie stood before thousands who questioned him, challenged him, doubted him, hated him, shouted at him, cursed him, and Charlie was never afraid. He was the epitome of courage. He believed in free speech. He believed in the First Amendment and practiced it and allowed others to vent and listen to them. He asked questions and engaged in debate fearlessly. He wasn't like talk show hosts who ridicule folks with different viewpoints and cut them off with the flick of a switch. Charlie listened to everyone's perspective. Then he asked questions that often put them in a corner. His logic was overpowering and won the audience over, and that's why college audiences loved him. He didn't browbeat or humiliate. He won with love and logic and when the God-haters attacked, he didn't attack them back. He loved them back and he smiled. His appearance was that of an angel, like Stephen. His defense was always logical and historical and full of actual quotes.
Speaker 2:Charlie quoted statistics from memory and famous authors, even authors like Stalin and Marx and Mao. His memory, like Stephen's, was prodigious, but in the end Charlie was a preacher of righteousness. He called out sin. Like Stephen did, charlie admonished college boys to forsake pornography and fornication. He encouraged college kids to honor marriage, to marry early and have kids, lots of kids. He challenged college students to give up video games for more profitable use of their time. He called out the transgender college students and begged them to repent of their sin.
Speaker 2:It was this fearless accusation of the religious leaders that caused the martyrdom of Stephen. It was this same fearless truth-telling by Charlie Kirk that caused his martyrdom at the hands of a young man who believed the slanderous lies the media had spewed about Charlie for years, calling him a bigot, a racist and a fascist, when he was actually the opposite of those accusations. What happened when Stephen was martyred? The Bible tells us that the church was scattered and the first church planning movement began. The young man said I'm sorry. The young man, saul, who observed the manner of Stephen's death and approved his murder, ended up becoming hounded by Holy Spirit until he met Jesus personally on the road to Damascus. And this prideful Pharisee became the missionary Paul, who wrote most of the New Testament and planted most of the churches in Western Europe. He became the great lion of God.
Speaker 2:So let me ask you what will be the outcome of the assassination of Charlie Kirk? It'll be up to you. Already we see prayer vigils. Many have confessed that they are joining Bible studies and returning to church. Perhaps we will see the spiritual revival that we have prayed for for years. Some speak of driving the liars and slanderers out of the media and schools and universities. Well and good if you can accomplish it, but they will only go elsewhere and pick up where they left off, only more angry and more determined.
Speaker 2:So let me ask what should we do? Let me give a few suggestions. Number one examine yourself to see whether you be in the faith. The Bible tells us that Make sure that your faith is genuine and not merely lip service. Number two go deeper. Seek the Lord while he may be found and call upon him while he is near. Spend time in the word and in prayer and make sure the revival is in your heart. Do not be a spectator to what God is doing.
Speaker 2:And number three recognize that we fight a spiritual battle. Ephesians 6, 12 says For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in heavenly places. You see, the battle is against light and darkness, against right and wrong, against good and evil. And, whether you like it or not, the battlefield is your life. It's a spiritual battle. And recognize that your life is the battlefield and the weapons of our warfare are not fleshly but divinely powerful for destruction of fortresses. And we have to take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ and with humility. I encourage you to remember that if it were not for the grace of God and the power of Holy Spirit that you and I would be on the dark side shouting crucify him, crucify him. And rejoicing that Charlie Kirk was shot.
Speaker 2:This war is not won by purging the media and academia of leftist voices. Do you recall how you came from the dark side into the light, how you were transformed from the domain of darkness into the kingdom of God's beloved? Statistically, 85 to 90% of Christians became believers when a family member or a close friend shared the gospel with them over a kitchen table or at work or in some other intimate setting. Less than 10% became believers at a large-scale evangelistic event. So let me ask the question how do we win this spiritual war? I'm going to tell you it's one heart at a time. The same way you eat an elephant, you eat an elephant, one bite at a time. And we win this war one heart at a time. You reach the people in your circle of influence, and I reach those in my circle of influence. You reach your children and grandchildren and your next-door neighbor and your extended family, and I do the same. I'm not responsible for the entire world, but I am responsible for my circle of influence, and so are you. Remember what I've told you before Our only strategy is evangelism and our only weapon is the truth of the gospel.
Speaker 2:Paul said I'm not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God unto salvation to all who believe. The gospel is the power of God unto salvation to all who believe. The Holy Spirit will pluck them up one by one and transfer them from the dark side into the kingdom of God. It won't require superior logic or rationale or debating skills like Charlie Kirk had, just a simple testimony and a clear presentation of the gospel. That's why Paul said in 1 Corinthians 2, in verse 2 and 3, he said I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling.
Speaker 2:You see, there are not a lot of people out there like Charlie Kirk who have the debating skills and the logic and the prodigious memory. Most folks are like you and me, who just have a simple testimony and a little bitty presentation of the gospel that we've memorized. Now some folks who are perishing will consider the word of the cross foolishness, but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God. And you see, you can't pick those folks in advance. So as Billy Graham's daughter, ann Graham Lotz, used to say, just give them Jesus.
Speaker 2:You don't know in advance who's going to be saved and who's not going to be saved. All you and I can do is give them Jesus, give them your testimony and give them the gospel and let the Holy Spirit pick them one by one from the dark side and move them the gospel. And let the Holy Spirit pick them one by one from the dark side and move them into the light, into the kingdom of God. I'm not minimizing the importance of being involved in the political process or being a light in the darkness at work or in your extended family, but wherever you go, give them Jesus. Our only strategy is evangelism and our only weapon is the truth of the gospel. You're listening to More Than Medicine and I'm your host, dr Robert Jackson. Please remember that your doctor loves you and we'll be back again next week. Until then, may the Lord bless you real good.
Speaker 1:Thank you for listening to this edition of More Than Medicine. For more information about the Jackson Family Ministry or to schedule a speaking engagement, go to their Facebook page, instagram or webpage at jacksonfamilyministrycom. Also, don't forget to check out Dr Jackson's books that are available on Amazon. The Family Doctor Speaks the Truth About Life in his first book, and the Family Doctor Speaks the Truth About Seed Planting. Equipping Believers for evangelism is His second.
